Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2004 09:06:53 -0500
From: Liz Evans <liz-AT-etherboy.com>
Subject: Re: PUPT: Re: Thoughts on Avenue Q


Mary,

No hate here.  Please raise the bar.

Andrew, just a bit of life history.  Our company produced 5 new full
stage
shows in two years.  We built them, rehearsed them, and although we
performed
them for audiences, as the Artistic Director, I still was not entirely
happy
with the first several runs of each show.  

This year I am very happy because we have been able to start the fine 
tuning on each show.  All of the cast members now really feel
comfortable
with all the different styles of puppetry we are using and instead of
the
Oh, my god, that booking is when, does everyone really know their lines?

We are able to really spend time in rehearsal to tweak areas that may
not
have manipulated cleanly enough, or places where the manipulation may
not
have been what our standards are because someone wasn't really down with
their lines.

That is not to say that the first performances did not have merit, or
that
the audiences didn't enjoy them.  We heard from many of them and they
did
enjoy the pieces.  We also invited guild members to come and see the
works
to get good critical feed back.

Two of our five shows have pretty much reached the initial level that I
wanted to see them at, Our "Alice Through the Looking Glass" and our
performance of "Ananse and the Sky God" is currently getting some
touches
that I had wanted in the beginning, but we just didn't have the time to
address them. This summer we will be working on the polish of two more
pieces.

Mary is correct, it does become natural, but you should always strive
for
better.  The general public is used to slock. They watch it on their TVs
everyday.  The Art of puppetry should bring them more from a
performance.
Something to take away with them that they couldn't have gotten
otherwise.
This doesn't mean that every performance has to be this deep meaningful
piece, only that the interaction of the puppets might tell them
something 
about themselves or make the laugh at something they couldn't have
otherwise,
or helped them see something from someone else's perspective, or simply
to
learn something in a way they will never forget.

Sorry, got a bit long winded.  Just think that Mary did have a lot of
good
points. We combine Masked work, singing and music, live performers, and
Puppetry in almost every piece we do.  All of the performers that work
with
us are Puppeteers, but they are also singers, actors, and some are
dancers.
And we take every aspect very seriously when putting a piece together.
We
don't always realize, with a first run, what we want for the final
product,
but we always strive toward it and don't loose site of it even if we
have to
put a piece down for a while.

Just my Two to Four cents on the matter.

Liz
K. Elizabeth Evans, Artistic Director
Renaissance Artist Puppet Company

Puppeteers of America
Mid Atlantic Regional Director 2001/03

http://www.RenArtPuppetCo.com
We provide Puppet Theatre performances and Art Residency programs.
We can build your Puppets, Props, and Mascots.


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